Kulich

Ingredients

Sponge

• 150 mlwarm milk
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 100 gplain flour
• 1 tbspsugar

Dough

• 600 gstrong white flour
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 150 gbutter, softened
• 4egg yolks
• 2whole eggs
• 150 mlwarm milk
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1/2 tspground cardamom
• a good pinch of saffron, steeped in 2 tbsp warm milk

Fruit

• 150 graisins
• 80 gcandied peel, chopped
• 3 tbsprum or warm water, to soak
• 2 tbspflour, to dust the fruit

Icing

• 1egg white
• 200 gicing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsplemon juice

To finish

• coloured sprinkles

Equipment

• tall cylindrical tins, or clean tall tins lined with paper

Directions

1. Warm the milk to blood temperature and no hotter. Whisk in the yeast, the sugar and the hundred grams of flour. It should be the consistency of a thick batter. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm for forty-five minutes. It should become foamy and roughly double in volume.
2. Put the raisins and candied peel in a small bowl. Pour over the rum or warm water and leave them for thirty minutes. Drain them well and pat them dry on a cloth. Toss them in the two tablespoons of flour. The flour coating stops them sinking to the bottom of the loaf. Crush the saffron threads and steep them in warm milk for fifteen minutes. The milk should turn a strong yellow.
3. Beat the egg yolks and whole eggs with the sugar until pale. Add them to the risen sponge along with the warm milk and the saffron milk. Add the vanilla and the ground cardamom. Stir in the flour and the salt. Mix it to a rough dough and turn it out. Knead it for ten minutes before any butter goes in.
4. Add the softened butter a piece at a time. Knead each piece in completely before the next. Keep kneading and it will come back together, smooth and satiny. This takes fifteen minutes of work and there is no shortcut. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover it. Leave it somewhere warm for two to three hours. It should roughly double, though it may take longer in a cold kitchen.
5. Turn the dough out and flatten it. Scatter the floured fruit over it. Fold and knead gently until the fruit is evenly distributed. Do not overwork it, since the fruit will tear the dough. Grease the tins and line them with baking paper.
6. Line the sides higher than the rim, since the dough rises above it. Clean tall tins work well if you have no proper kulich moulds. Divide the dough between the tins. Fill each tin only halfway, since it will roughly double.
7. Cover the tins loosely and leave them somewhere warm. Let them rise for one and a half to two hours. The dough should reach the rim of the tin. Heat the oven to 180C while they prove. Now baking, which needs watching. Bake them for forty-five to fifty minutes. The tops will colour quickly because of the sugar and eggs.
8. Cover them loosely with foil after twenty minutes. It should come out clean with no wet crumb. Let them sit in the tins for ten minutes. Turn them out carefully, since a tall loaf can collapse under its own weight.
9. Lay them on their sides on a cushion of towels. Turn them every fifteen minutes so they do not go flat on one side. Let them cool completely before icing. Whisk the egg white until frothy but not stiff. Beat in the sifted icing sugar a little at a time. Add the lemon juice and beat until thick and glossy. It should be thick enough to hold its shape but still pour slowly.
10. Stand each loaf upright on a plate. Pour the icing over the domed top. Let it run down the sides in irregular drips. Scatter coloured sprinkles over while the icing is still wet. Let the icing set for two hours before moving them. Serve it cut across in thick rounds, from the top down.

Technique

• Make a sponge first, since this heavily enriched dough rises slowly without one.
• Toss the fruit in flour so it does not sink to the bottom.
• Cool tall loaves on their sides, turning them, so they do not collapse.

Substitutions

• Clean tall tins lined with paper, in place of kulich moulds.
• Turmeric for colour if saffron is unavailable, though the flavour differs.

Variations

• With chopped almonds through the dough.
• With more candied peel and less raisin.
• Made small, in individual tins, for gifts.

History

Tall Easter bread blessed at church and eaten with paskha curd, baked in tins under white icing and sprinkles.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kulich?

Kulich is a bread & pastry from Russia: tall glazed Easter bread studded with raisins. Tall Easter bread blessed at church and eaten with paskha curd, baked in tins under white icing and sprinkles.

How long does Kulich take to make?

Kulich takes 1 hour plus 5 hours rising of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 tall loaves. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kulich?

Yes, within limits. Clean tall tins lined with paper, in place of kulich moulds. Turmeric for colour if saffron is unavailable, though the flavour differs.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kulich?

Turn the dough out and flatten it. Scatter the floured fruit over it. Fold and knead gently until the fruit is evenly distributed. Do not overwork it, since the fruit will tear the dough. Grease the tins and line them with baking paper.